Link Fallen
by Orin Drake
Summary: You wanted to see Link in mental and physical agony? Allow me to show you why I am a master of this genre...


"Link Fallen" and the general overall plot of "link Fallen" is completely copyright Orin Drake 2002. However, the characters and names Link, Ganon, Ganondorf, Hylian, Zelda, Sheikah, Triforce, Din, Farore, Nayru, Saria, Nabooru, Zora, Malon, Ruto, Hyrule, Princess Zelda and whatever else I may have missed that people who know this game genre will know anyway, is copyright Nintendo. Whew. If I were making money off this sucker, I'd be a happier person, I can guarantee you that.   
Background: I am going to be making up to Link for the rest of my life for this alone... It all started with a dream of only the very beginning few paragraphs. And, thanks to all of the rumors about Ocarina of Time I've read over the years (I _love_ a good conspiracy), the rest just flowed easily. **WARNING:** Not for the faint of heart! It's kind of nightmare insane mixed with a little just plain disturbing content and some stuff that probably still doesn't really make sense... but thanks goodness (and badness) for artistic license, eh? I am really happy with how this turned out. And I think you'll understand why, right away. I guess I can officially forget a job at Nintendo, _ever_.   
  
  
  


Link Fallen   
by Orin Drake 

He moaned quietly, every muscle in his body feeling like it had been stretched to its absolute limit, then broken. His arms, legs, _everything_ burned fiercely. He opened his eyes and blinked away the grogginess, unsure what had just happened or where he was. The last thing he remembered... he'd saved Hyrule! He'd killed Ganon, saved Zelda, returned peace... the Ocarina... the music... she said she'd send him back...   
However, sitting up slowly, this was obviously not home. Nowhere close. Instead it appeared to be a dimly lit cavern like any other. His heart crumpled, and he felt like sobbing. Not this again. Not _still_. It was supposed to be over, already! What the hell had happened since...   
"Rise and shine, Hero of Time." He heard off in the distance. The sudden, harsh voice from nowhere had made him start, looking in the direction that it had come from but being unable to see anything. The voice was familiar, somehow, but...   
A form began to materialize in front of him, lit dimly from behind. He rubbed his eyes quickly, trying to get his bearings, prepare for a battle. As his eyes adjusted, he nearly felt all of the will and strength drain out of him into a well of confusion. He looked at that form, that splitting image in the mirror with so many cracks, and was struck completely thoughtless.   
A creature that looked just like him, just like he could have been a twin, grinned back at his expression. His eyes were hard and cold; enough to have been Ganondorf's own. "I bet you thought you won. I know I did."   
Link scrambled backward and to his feet, being forced to pause in that position due to extreme pain ripping through his legs. He'd fought through pain before, but it had never been this sudden. He hissed with it, pulling the Master Sword from behind his back but being unable to lift it fully at first. Such _agony_ radiated through his arm, his hand, sparking like electricity. It was only then that the words hit him. "What are you?" Time, he needed to buy himself some time.   
The form only nodded knowingly. "I'm _you_, you fool." Each word steadily rose in pitch and volume. "I am _you_, after you _saved Hyrule_ however many dozens of times over and _went mad_!"   
Link shook his head, unable to contain a shudder. "No. Hyrule is safe now..."   
"_Fool_!" the mirror image spat hopelessly. "Idiot! All of you! When Zelda sent you back, she didn't bother to realize that the cycle would continue forever! Over and _over_ and it will _never end_!"   
Link took a deep breath and finally yanked the trusted sword from his back, holding it as steadily as he possibly could. Calm assurance, he had to keep it tight... "It can't be-"   
"Do you know how many times I've had to see everything shatter?!" the doppelganger interrupted in a scream. "How many creatures I've had to kill? How many innocent people have died over and over, _and I can't stop it_?!"   
The sane Hero of Time backed away slightly out of genuine fear. This was... this was unreal. This was even more eerie than the shadow of himself Ganondorf had concocted. It wasn't right... and he was beginning to believe this apparition. It was at the same time ridiculous and too real. He could smell the desperation coming off of that creature, and it was clearly no simple feat of magic. No illusion trickery. "Then why am I here?"   
"If I kill you, it'll all be over. Everything will be over! It never will have begun! Freedom for both of us!" The evil twin's hand rose to pull an identical Master Sword from his back.   
Link swallowed. His arms still ached, but he saw no other choice than to take a breath and try to support the Hylian Shield as well. This couldn't happen. He had to prevent it. "If you kill me, Hyrule will fall!"   
"Fuck Hyrule! It's not worth this pain!" the cracked mirror image took a determined slash at him.   
That was one of his moves, alright. It was like practicing against a living mirror--only, this wasn't practice. He raised the shield and used all of his strength to push the form backward.   
The "other" Link cried out, breaking the momentum and darting back for another attempt. It was deflected once more with the shield, but so hard this time that the violently sudden resistance had made his hand temporarily numb.   
It wasn't much better for the "real" Link, save that he was still alive and unharmed. That hit he'd just deflected had knocked him on his ass and made his entire upper back feel like the spine was being ripped out. But that cold intensity of battle was still fresh within him; regardless of the disgustingly painful muscles, he forced himself onto his feet and panted, a knowing, finalizing look in his eye. Slowly, he raised the Master Sword. "At least... if I kill you, it's a cycle of mercy. You'll suffer no longer."   
"No!" his other self screamed. "This will go on! Forever! It will continue! Your pain is my pain! You have to die!"   
Ugh, begging. Regardless of how evil, how vile something was, begging _got_ to him. Not enough to matter, however; he drove the Master Sword through a pair of ribs, severing the heart altogether. A move coming more from familiarity, he twisted the blade and jammed it just a little further before throwing the form down and yanking the sword back out.   
His double dropped, blood leaking from his mouth. Link wasn't sure what he expected, but whatever it had been was not what was happening. Instead of a flurry of magical energy, or even just a body laying there to gather flies, it merely grew transparent and disappeared.   
A loud, repetitive snapping sound diverted his thoughts from analyzing what had just happened. He swiftly turned on his heels toward the sound, sword ready for another strike. But even if what met his gaze had attacked him, he would never have been ready for it.   
There was a very well dressed man standing several yards from him, leaning against a stone pillar surrounded in shadows. That wasn't the shocking part; the man looked unmistakably like Ganondorf crossed with a human. Or, more specifically, with a _Hylian_. His voice sounded like any normal young adult as he greeted with false serenity, "Welcome, Link."   
There was no way to word anything he was feeling, then. This was just... weirder than anything he'd ever encountered. And, given his life up to this point, that was a lot. "What-- Why am I..?"   
A devious smile lit up the man's face. "I brought you here to tell you a story." He paused to let a hateful glare from his captive audience wash over him, but the gentleness of his voice never wavered. "So listen. You might be familiar with some of it already. You see, in the beginning, there were the Goddesses Din... Farore... and Nayru. But, you see, they weren't the only Goddesses of Hyrule. There were _four_."   
Link shook his head, confident in his words and far more confident in his stride; it seemed this man was only a lunatic. "There were _three_. _Three_ pieces of the Triforce, _three_ powers."   
The man only shook his head and gave a maddening smile. "All you know of _now_ is the Triforce. But you see, what was _to become_ the Triforce was the Golden Triangle, back then. There was a fourth piece. Wisdom, Power, Courage... and Chaos."   
"Why would three Goddesses of Light and Order allow one of _Chaos_?" Link challenged firmly, grasping the Master Sword for another encounter.   
The man chuckled heartily. "No one ever said they were the smartest Goddesses. But Chaos, you see, was not originally a Goddess. She was just a girl who offered to help the Goddesses, back in the day when they still talked to their Chosen People. The girl who would be Chaos took their creation on her back, so to speak, so they could rest and restore their powers."   
"A Goddess would not need to rest." Link hissed.   
"Shows what you know." The man teased. "They were _energy_, and they had spent much of themselves on their creation. They did need to rest. But, regardless of your rudeness, I shall continue. Chaos took to the task with assured grace, taking all problems in stride and fixing them when she could. But she was only one girl, not a true Goddess. Problems became more and more, harder, more elaborate, but still she would not tell the Goddesses due to her martyr-like pride. Only when everything went too far for her to _live on_ did she stop. And of course, it was a bit too late, then." He made a casual "away" gesture with his fingers. "She was crushed to death by the weight on her shoulders. A horrible way to die... don't you think so, Hero?"   
Link stared at the man with contempt. "I am not a martyr--"   
"Oh, I'm not suggesting _you_ are." He interrupted, then changed the subject entirely. "Obviously, the world fell with Chaos. So, the Goddesses that you know recreated their 'chosen world' with the symbol of a Triforce. Only three pieces with a hollow center. Only them, and no other. They learned from the past. But they could not erase it. Chaos was no longer a member of the Golden Triangle... but was spread throughout the universe. There are those who remember, of course. But it's not quite common knowledge. Only the Royalty and the Sheikah are aware of it, now. And even then, it's just a pretty symbol."   
"You love to hear yourself talk." The Hero of Time hissed impatiently.   
"Indeed." The man agreed with a smile. "I shall move on to why I am here, then. You see, my predecessor found his way _through_ the Sacred Realm." He paused to flash a bigger, wicked smile. "Onto the other side, as it were. Dimension, space, time... he became almost as a god. But he didn't count on having to pay for his universe shifting. He joined with Chaos, just as he had intended. But he, too, suffered by being spread throughout the universe, immortal, to be used and discarded at will without a standard consciousness."   
"A proper end." Link breathed.   
"I suppose it was. He left his powers with me... which is, finally, why you are here." He uncrossed his arms and pushed himself away from the pillar, taking only a couple of steps forward. "I have to admit, I was hoping you're slightly mentally impacted self would have ended this for us. It would have made my father more powerful, as well as my own magical benefit. But I digress. Now that you've chosen that road, it's time to put you to another challenge." He raised his arms, a sudden violent wind encasing the room, nearly knocking them both off their feet.   
Link held strong, however. He was ready for whatever this bastard could throw at him. His words held no meaning but insane banter, and his magic looked like it was worked for rupees. Wind? What, to throw him off balance? Imbecile...   
But, as the wind died as suddenly as it had risen, there was certain a magical... tinge to the room. A bitter feeling in the air, and a heavy weight in his stomach. Link's mouth fell open when he looked upon himself--no, creatures of Darkness that looked like him--in three forms. One was his match exactly, but his face was harder, his features sharper. His hair was a dark shade of brown the same length, and his clothing was a dead-on match.   
The second clone stared at him from behind a devious looking mask, the eyes glowing eerily. His face was hard, angry, and his hair was a gleaming silver white. He wore the same sort of tunic, but it was colored differently, in blue and white.   
The third form was an all too familiar sight, however; a perfect silhouette. That three-dimensional shadow that glowered at him openly, though he couldn't make out a face.   
He swallowed hard, feeling a sense of... wrongness that went with this encounter. It was only echoed like a physical force all around him as all pairs of eyes darted back and forth. His own gaze finally found that bastard son of Ganon and held firm.   
"You _are_ the Holder of the Triforce of Courage." The man assured smugly. "Look at your shield, boy."   
Nervously, he turned his only defense around to gaze at its front for only a moment. Instantly he saw what he was directed at; the Triforce was at the top, but at the bottom was an up-side down piece. The Fourth Piece, carried in the talons of a big red bird. He'd seen it before, so many times, but it had never clicked. Never made much sense to him at all. And now that he saw it, he found it made even less sense.   
His unspoken questions were regarded with that smug smoothness he'd already come to despise. "These creatures before you are your choices, boy. If you want your reality to survive, you had better make some good decisions. All of these are _you_."   
_No._ It was a silent word on the edge of his tongue. He looked around at them again, all staring at him, all looking as though they'd just received the shock of their lives, too. Certainly he could never become that shadow; he'd fought that shadow! And the one with the white hair and glowing eyes, that was too powerful, too much. And the brunet... he looked like some distant relative at best. No, this wasn't real.   
And then the thought occurred to him, _What if it is? What _if_ I kill them? This is _my_ reality._   
The man laughed as though he'd heard every thought. "That bird that carried the Fourth Triforce could be any number of people, _Hero_. But most often, that is determined by the one who takes responsibility for it. That one who takes the brunt of a hero's pain..." he grinned viciously. "It could be anyone who knows you. Who loves you."   
Chills ran through Link's spine. In his travels, he had come to know that there were a number of girls who held affection for him. And he realized with a cold, slow jolt that if any of them were harmed in any way because of what he did...   
The man laughed low and deep, mirroring Ganon's almost perfectly. "Let us begin, shall we?"   
A blaze of light seemed to pop in front of Link's vision, making him flinch and blink it away. When the brightness of the light left his eye, a form appeared in its place, standing next to Ganon's son.   
It was Zelda--only, it wasn't. She looked so much like what he remembered, tall and shapely and innocent even in her young adulthood. But her face... it looked almost as though at some point in time it had been shredded. The features, the skin, it was all very... disorderly. With one eye she saw his shock, and put her hands up as if to calm him; but only revealed that whatever had attacked her face had done the same to her hands. There was no trace of the white gloves save a few tattered remnants on her upper arms.   
"I've come so far to tell you this..." she moaned with the voice of a moblin. "Link... you must let yourself be slaughtered."   
He blinked, repulsed, confused, his head spinning. Certainly that couldn't be Zelda. She couldn't be serious. Or sane.   
"So much pain..." she sobbed quietly. "Everyone is in so much pain..."   
"Stop this!" Link shouted at the man who'd started this.   
A grin passed over the shadow of his lips for just a moment. "Oh, Hero of Time. Villain of Space. You caused this by killing the pained form you first encountered."   
"No!" Link assured himself aloud, his voice only momentarily showing how young he really was in a sobering squeak. "This is your illusion. This is Ganon's illusion!"   
But the man only shook his head slowly, waiting. It was a patient sort of look, the kind when you're expecting something to happen, that you know will happen, but it's only a matter of time.   
Link was enraged. He was doing nothing. Maybe he was doing everything. But he, himself, couldn't take that anymore. Lashing out his anger, his helplessness, he slashed his brunette clone through the belly. Instead of seeing the magical cloud of sparks ensue that he expected, or even intestines at his feet, he felt a tearing pain at his own stomach. It lasted only a second, only long enough for him to know it was there. As soon as it disappeared, so too did the dying clone. Completely, utterly, gone.   
Opening his mouth to question, Link looked back to where the image of Zelda had been. But now it was another; Malon. Her face was in tact, her eyes bright with a smile. But once more, something was terribly wrong. Instead of legs and feet appearing from under her dress, he saw wheels. Four of them, like her upper body rested upon some sort of table.   
Link shuddered at the nightmare image, barely able to contain the contents of his own stomach. He dared not open his mouth, not for a moment. Not even to ask...   
But she beat him to it, that same easy smile on her face that he remembered. Her voice, though, it was... it was slow and slurred. Drugged, even. "Oh, don't worry about it. Ganon's not so bad. He didn't punish me half as bad as he did the Kiroki children."   
He wanted to scream. He _needed_, so badly, so scream. To wake up! To get out! He couldn't stand it. His hands were shaking. Anger, fear, unthinking _rage_... he sliced the shadow version of himself through the knees of both legs. Once again, he felt the pain; only for an instant. Again, the form that was once there was gone completely with a blink. But he dare not look over to where Malon had been standing. He couldn't take it. Couldn't see what might be waiting there.   
The spawn of Ganon, so he was beginning to truly believe at this point, only smiled. "Come now, Hero. You must face your consequences."   
_I don't want to!_ threatened to burst from his lips. That or a never-ending sob. Maybe a scream. He dared not try any of them. With a heavy stomach, he glanced. Nabooru, the Gerudo. But she was so skinny, so gaunt, and--oh Gods!--she had no hands! No arms! Just crudely fashioned sticks with hooks that looked like they'd been sewn into the flesh of her shoulders. Her skin was bruised purple almost everywhere, clearly having been freshly beaten...   
He was going to lose it. He knew he was going to lose it. His mind, his stomach, everything. Tears were already threatening, already brimming. The only one left was that other, that one that wore the mask. Through tears, he cried out with nothing but the ache of his very soul, and decapitated the creature.   
This time there was no pain. The lack of it, of anything, made him cringe. A tiny light of hope burned through him, but he didn't want it extinguished yet. He didn't want to look over and see what he almost certainly knew he would see...   
"Link?" he heard clearly. It was concerned, gentle but pressing. And it was Ruto.   
He turned his head but kept his eyes closed. Just for a moment. Just until he could get his breath. Opening them, he prepared himself for the worst yet.   
All that met him was a very worried looking Zora. "Wha--Link?! What's happened? What's the matter? Didn't we save everyone?"   
And then the terror hit. That bastard son of Ganon--he was sure, now--, had somehow stepped behind her and--   
Link had darted, sword out... but it was too late. That... that disgusting, inhuman... He'd slit her throat. Too quickly to have stopped him. Oh, Gods, the Sage of the Water Temple was bleeding to death at his feet. And even when he went to kneel by her side, he could see her becoming transparent as though ceasing to exist altogether.   
Angry, tear filled eyes bored through the bastard when the helpless hero looked up. "Why?! What is this?!"   
"Link..." the man said very calmly, tossing the knife away from him, as easily discarded as a leaf that had fallen in his hair, "Ganon was my father. It was only right to carry out what he had wanted me to do." He smiled softly, almost gently, then pulled his foot back and drove a kick straight into Link's stomach. Then another. And another, until all the hero saw was black.   


He woke with a scream so loud it seemed to come from everywhere around him. After it ended, he took a deep breath and let another one explode from his mouth. His throat ached, his jaw trembled, but... there was nothing else he could do. With wide, startled eyes, he took a look around. The Lost Woods. Early morning. He had no idea where he was, but he knew he'd never been in an area covered by such thick grass before. Somewhere he'd never traveled, perhaps.   
The warm breeze made him shiver, and he quickly discovered why; he was covered with sweat and blood. None of it seemed to be his own; just a reminder, perhaps. Looking at his red hands, he established quickly that he was a child again. He certainly didn't _feel_ like it. Touching his moist face, however, reassured him. But... children didn't have these kinds of nightmares.   
He scrambled to his feet, his eyes still wide with whatever that experience had been. A dream? All of it? It was far too real to have been a mere dream. But here he was, back home. Or close enough, at least. He could find his way back to his house from where he was, he was certain. This small matter of being coated with blood, though...   
His ears twitched; water! He knew where he was after all. Though he'd never dare to dive into that pool again. Still feeling a bit numb, he stumbled through a hollow log and toward the sound to find a pool of water identical to that in his dream; or, well, whatever it had been. He didn't want to reflect on anything now. Or ever.   
He splashed and scrubbed, reveling in the feeling the cold water gave him. He felt much more awake, much more distant from whatever had just happened. Dunking his head under the water, he didn't even open his eyes. He didn't want to see through that hole. Worse yet, he didn't want something to reach out and grab him, to take him away from his home. He was back, and young again, and there was no way he was going to leave. Ever. He wasn't Hylian, he was Kiroki. He knew he was. No mistake. He was just the odd boy out, with no fairy. That was alright. He'd rather have none than the one in his dream.   
Clean. Wet and shivering, but clean. He stood and wrung what he could out of his clothes, then turned to find his way home. Meeting his gaze and coming his direction from another hollow log, however, was a smiling girl...   
"Saria?" Link croaked, his throat still aching a bit from the scream.   
She smiled even wider, seeing that he was soaking wet. "Link! I was wondering where you'd gone!" She giggled and trotted up to him, completely overlooking the startled look in his eyes.   
It _was_ Saria. It really was. His dearest friend. Instead of a casual greeting like he would have given her at any other time, he actually stepped up to her and gave her a prolonged hug.   
She was a little stiff from surprise at that. Sure, they'd been friends for a while, but... "You're friendly today, Link." She giggled.   
"No matter what happens," he begged her, "Don't ever let me leave the forest. Promise me."   
She pulled back just for a moment to look at him closely, suddenly very serious. His request was obviously very important to him. "Okay. I promise."   
Link nodded, smiling. "Okay. Let's... go home." 

* * *

Well, I don't think Link will ever talk to me again. It was only a matter of time, really, but I bet this sort of drove him over the edge... As for Navi, well... I don't really care about Navi. 


End file.
